Tuesday, March 21, 2006

Yet Another Odd Art Post!

I'm being terribly Lazy and am considering breaking an ankle to get out of going to the gym for the remainder of the week.

Instead, I've been lolling about nibbling on fruity things and watching the Innocents, a campy old flick based on Henry Jame's The Turn of the Screw; it basically begins as a great big gushy, sloppy, treacly horror with two of the most perkily angelic and saccharine-filled child actors who ever lived. I was about to slit my wrists when it took a turn for the better and the governess finally had her nervous breakdown and began to go insane. Thank god.

Speaking of insanity, I felt that it was time for another post on Very Odd Art (previous Odd Art posts may be found in the drop down box under my avatar).

To-day we are focusing on Odd Art of an Educational nature:

The Extraction of the Stone of Madness is a lesser-known work by the famous artist, Hieronymous Bosch, who was really a pretty weird guy. Currently at the Museo del Prado, this piece was painted between 1475 and 1480, and apparently depicts the practice of trepanation, which is the act of drilling or cutting a hold in the skull. In the past it was used to "treat" insanity among other things-- but extremely odd people occasionally practice it today to reach a supposed high.

In this case, a tulip is being removed from the individual's head (a "tulip head" denoting someone who is crazy). The guy with a funnel hat supposedly symbolizes a quack, while the nun with a book on her head is considered to be a metaphor for Folly.

This work really speaks to me this week, as my days have been filled with Folly and Occasional Lunacy.

Perhaps it's an impending midlife crisis.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Visiting via BlogMad today. Love the post and pic.

8:59 AM  
Blogger L said...

thank you! I have been seeing a lot more people surf by this week...

10:41 PM  
Blogger glomgold said...

That painting looks pretty neat. The skull-drilling though, not so swell.
Off to accomplish some things. I will have to sift through your archives s'more later.

12:38 PM  
Blogger L said...

Glomgold: yeah, I always think Bosch is really interesting myself...

5:36 PM  

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